Affection/Nine
NINE ~ ASHPAW then it finally worked all these 'lies' proven wrong our happiness perked yet the threat still proved strong I was surprised - no, I could say shocked - at the fact that Stormpaw had owned up to all of this, why this threat had come about. I couldn't believe my ears at what I was hearing. What could quiet, reserved Stormpaw have to do with all of this? How could he have started it. There just seemed no way... "Go on, we don't have all day," Duskflame mewed brusquely to the apprentice, after a long silence. "We need to get back to Shadestar." Stormpaw looked as though he was swaying on his paws. He looked as though at any moment, he was going to fall over and faint - but to my surprise, he managed to keep standing. "I... fine," he mewed, his voice soft, and trembling. "About a moon ago, I... I was hunting through the forest on my own, near the border. Then, all of a sudden, a -" He choked again, looking lost for words. I shot a look at Cheetahpaw, guessing what the next word was going to be, as I felt the familiar tingle down my spine as I stared at her. I couldn't quite pick up what this feeling was... what was it...? "Stormpaw..." At this, I looked away from the spotted she-cat, and I snapped right back to attention. Wishfire was the cat who spoke this time, the gray cat's tail twitching. Stormpaw's gray-and-black pelt had become fluffed up, his green eyes round and full of fear, from what I could detect. "A - A rogue came along and attacked me," he gasped, looking strained. "I tried to tell him to get off BurnClan territory, but that didn't work... he tried to kill me." He looked terrified. I was starting to become unconvinced about Stormpaw's story, and I was starting to lose interest. Despite the fact that holed so serious about it, something told... "Then... I just lost control." Stormpaw's voice cut off my thoughts. and I looked up. "I just lost my temper at him... and I can't remember too much else after that. The next thing that I remember was... standing over the cat's body." A couple of cats gasped at this, and Softfeather looked as though she was going to run off in panic, the gray cat's eyes wide. I flicked my ears back in surprise - and looking beside me at Cheetahpaw, I could see by her stance that she was shocked that her brother would do such a thing. Stormpaw's a murderer... The thought ran through my head, chilling me down my spine. I couldn't believe it. "That... that's not all," Stormpaw mewed, barely been able to be heard over the mews of cats that had started talking at the previous statement. They all quietened down at once, turning to face the apprentice once more. "Then... a massive black cat came out of the bush nearby. He was scarred. He was followed by a dark tabby she-cat..." I recognized those descriptions. At once, I shot a look at Cheetahpaw, and she was staring at me, too, giving me the same look. It's Trazo and Garra, her thoughts seemed to tell me, as her tail flicked in Stormpaw's direction. I nodded, and turned back to Stormpaw, who looked like he was really going to fall on his paws any moment soon. There was a twitch of the tail by a ginger she-cat. "What did they call themselves...?" she asked the apprentice, her narrowed eyes demanding an answer. Stormpaw's breath caught in his throat. He swayed violently on his paws. "The Darkness..." he whispered. Then, with one violent swing, he fell onto the ground. I watched as Wishfire ran forward to check on her apprentice, her tail swishing. Quickly, she looked up. "He's out cold, Duskflame," she reported, looking sadly at the apprentice. Duskflame straightened up. "Okay, okay, I've dealt with enough right now. We're going back to camp. We've had proof that this threat was indeed the truth." Her gaze shifted to Cheetahpaw and I, her dark eyes glinting for once. I joined the patrol heading back to camp, Cheetahpaw by my side. I looked into her eyes, and with one look, it was obvious that we both knew we had won. Looks like BurnClan will be convinced after all. ~ ~ "So." Shadestar still looked unsure, the dark leader's yellow-green eyes round. "That threat that Ashpaw and Cheetahpaw talked to me about a few days ago..." "Yes," Duskflame mewed. "It's not a lie. I have multiple witnesses. Those apprentices were telling the truth." As soon as we'd gotten back to camp, the majority of the patrol - Softfeather wasn't there as she was shaken up, and Stormpaw was still unconscious, and being tended to by the medicine cat - had gone in to see Shadestar about what they'd discovered. Cheetahpaw and I lingered at the back, letting the warriors speak about their matters. Shadestar's ears flattened. "I don't like doing this job, sometimes," he sighed. "I mean, I enjoy it... but there are some things that are just painful to do. And this is one of them." "He's declaring war," Cheetahpaw whispered in my ear, her warm breath on my ear. I knew this already, but I was too content to say anything: too interested in watching. I nodded absently, not really paying attention. Nonetheless, I still felt that tingling sensation down my spine. "...We're at war," Shadestar finally announced, his head bowed, and he sighed. "I hate to..." Duskflame stepped up to the leader, her ginger pelt brushing against his. "We will get through this together," she breathed, her gaze soft as she stared at her leader. "BurnClan will survive. We always have." Shadestar nodded at the she-cat's words, still looking absent. Now that it was admitted, I felt a sense of relief, knowing that my - no, our - 'lie' was now proven to be wrong, and that we - Cheetahpaw and I - were telling the truth. However, a sense of dread was also there... a dread to go into war. I'd heard the tales of how bad it could be, although I'd never thought about before. There will be death. A cold chill blustered past me as I thought of this. However, I quickly shook it off. No, that won't happen to me. I'm strong. I'll survive this war. Now it was all in my head. There were three days until the war, I knew that much. Three days, and then fate would be decided. persistence is key to upholding the truth later it'll be set free after accusations of untruth